The Encounter by Norman Fitts Read Free Book Online

"How about the cafeteria across the street? They have a cheesecake to die for."
                  Margaret organized the paper on the desk into a neat pile and stood up. "Sounds good." Whatever that was. She picked up her bag and she and Kathy left.
                  Margaret never personally found out if the cheesecake was worth dying for, but the vegetables were okay. Kathy was pleasant enough. They talked about several things. A lot of it from Margaret was, of course, rehearsed. The topic of conversation finally got around to Lawrence. Kathy sort of had a thing for him, but she couldn't generate any interest. At first she thought he was gay.
                  Homosexuality was not a concept unique to humans. Margaret understood it, but since it never occur in her society, it was an understanding developed while observing other cultures.
                  In any event, that idea was laid to rest when Kathy found out he was dating a girl from an accounting firm on the tenth floor. Margaret sat and listened. The natural forces at work made her uncomfortable with the idea of Lawrence being with someone else. It wasn't a question of being jealous. Jealousy was an emotion she would never experience, at least not with one of her own kind. Hers was a simple need to have sex with him. The emotional attachment would come after that.
                  The problem was, there had been no official contact with this species. To become openly involved with a human was a very serious breach in protocol. She could lose everything. Even her father might not be able to get her out of it. The thought had crossed her mind to ask her mother. No, she wouldn't do that. She'd handle it herself. Ultimately she had only two choices. Fight it until it passed, and it would eventually, or leave.
     
                                                            ***
                  Margaret looked at her watch. It was 7:00 pm. She stood looking at the martial arts photo in Lawrence's office. All the folders were neatly stacked on the desk. Her folder was lying beside them. Hanging around was probably not a good idea. The justification was the journal she kept, recording the unexpected events of each mission and the attraction she felt for this human was definitely unexpected. Besides, if she was going to work around him, she had to be able to control what was happening.
                  The elevator bell sounded. She looked at the door. A few moments later her nose announced him. She turned back to the picture on the wall.
                  Lawrence stopped in the doorway. Before having to ask, he tried to figure out why she was still there. Several things came to mind. "You didn't have to stay late."
                  She turned around. "I hate to start something and not finish it."
                  He looked at his desk. "You finished it?" He walked around his desk, depositing the briefcase in the chair.
                  She watched him. "My notes are in the folder beside the files."
                  He opened her folder. There were dozens of pages. "How could you possibly...”?
                  He started flipping through them. She watched. In some cases she had supplied several precedence to support a single point. There were endnotes and footnotes.
                  She watched him flip through page after page. "I included some comments. I hope that was alright?"
                  "Alright... this is..." She was one surprise after another. "I don't know what to say."
                  She smiled. "Say it's okay so I can go home."
                  He put down the folder. "Go home. I'll need to stay and look it over." He looked at his watch. "Let me walk you out."
                  She picked up her bag from the other